Electric socket



fp 1927' F. GILES ELECTRIC SOCKET Filed Sept. 26. 1925 Patented Sept.27, 1927.

UNITED s TATE 'Application mm sepcemb'er' Electric lamp sockets made ofinsulating material are very desirable for use in many installations, asfor instance, where the socket is'liliely to come in contact with metalwhich might cause a short circuit if either of the lead-in wires shouldhappen to contact with the socket. To provide tor such uses; socketshave been made of porcelain,

but they are objectionable}; because likely to be broken and also areunduly bulky.

One of the objects ofthe present iiIVe'nlilO'H is the provision of anelectric socket fixture which may be made, of molded electricalinsulating material, a; bakelite yet which will present a pleasingappearance and may be subjected to rough usage. without breakg c Afurther important object of the present invention is to eliminate asmuch as possible the occurrence of a short-circuit within are thoroughlyprotected. The internal" terminal connections are mounted on apeculiarly lormed' insulating carrier which pro-- vides' a separator forthe leads and is prevented from inadvertentdisplacement due to turningof a plug or lamp bulbinto the socket.

I carry out the above objects by utilizing a substance such as bakelitewhich may be readily molded to any desired shape, and I so mold thissubstance to form a core and an enclosing housing therefor. Thecurrent-carrying members are arranged to be mounted upon the core sothat the electrical connections may be readily made independently of theconnections between the core and the housing. Moreover, I make thehousing in two parts with suitable means such as a threaded connectionfor holding the members together and I utilize the locking connectionbetween the members for locking the core in adjusted position withreference to the housing. In making the core, I provide a partition wallwhich divides the housing into two compartments into each of which oneof the terminal connections extends. In this way,

PATENT OFFICE.

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2a, 1925-. serial No. 53794;

theel'ectr-i'cal conductors which are led into. the fixture maybereadily insulated from ea'ch'oth'ereven though there may be wireadfiacent' the binding screws; The means for carrying out my inventionsillustrated in the accompanying drawings in theapreferred form, whereinFig. '1 isa side elevation of a socket fixture made in accordance withmy invention"; Fig. "2 is a 7 section takenvertically through fixtureshown in Fig. 1 and on a: plane indicated by the hne 2- 2 in Fig; 1 Fig.3 is a section taken vertical-1y through the fixture on a" plane atrightangles to thateshown in Fig; 1, as inclicated by the lines 3"'-3in" Fig. 2; Fig. & is horizontal section taken through the fixture on aplane indicatedby the line 1 4 111 Fig; 2'; Fig. 5 is a perspective ofthe insulating terminal carrier which is located within-th'e'sooketshe'll; v

A socket fixture made in accordance with my invention embodiesaninsulating core indicated at and a housing whichsun rounds the core -andprovides a. support" therefor. The housing is ill"ustrated as'comprising'a substantially cylindrical member 1' 1 and a cooperatingclosure 12, which may be locked together by a threaded connection 1'3.The core" as well" the housing is made" of" a substance such asbakelite, which may he readily formed under heat and pressureto'anydesired shape. c

The core has a disk-liliebodfg 15, the bottom of which is arranged toengage a sliou'l derlGj in the member 11 and to'be'su ported thereby:The body as shown, is su anti ally cylindrical in shape and has apartition 17 which extends upwardly from the central portion thereof andwhich divides the chamher in the member 12 into two compartments 18 and19 respectively; The core moreover has openings in the nature of slots20 and 21 therein, through which terminal conductors 24 and 25respectively, may extend.

The terminal conductors are shown as being substantially L-shapedmembers having sufficient length to project beyond the upper end of themember 11. The lower end of the conductor 25 is electrically connectedto a shell while the lower end of the conductor 24 is electricallyconnected as by a securing member 31 to the central spring contact 32.The securing member 31 also functions to hold the shell and theconductors in locked position with reference to the core. The electricalconnections with the lead-in wires 26 and 27 may be made on the corebefore the core is assembled within the housing.

By making the conductors 24 and 25 of sufficient length toprojectslightly beyond the end of the member 11, the binding screws 84and 35 may be visible without necessitating removal of the core from themember 11 and without requiring the electric plug or other electricarticle which is mounted within the shell 30 to be. removed therefrom,thus permitting ready inspection of the connections. r

To prevent the-core from rotating whenever a plug or lamp bulb isthreaded into the shell, I have shown the interior portion of the cap ashaving spaced lug 40 and 41 which engage opposite sides of the partition17 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This construction locks the core againstrotation with reference to the housing -when the cap is threaded tightlyinto the member 11. By putting this lock on the cap rather than theshell, I enable the interior of the shell to be cylindrical and closely.embrace the screw threaded sleeve and the core without waste of space ormaterial. Each of the three insulating parts is so formed that it may bereadily molded.

In view of the foregoing description, it will be evident that I haveprovided a socket fixture which may be made almost entirely of moldedinsulating material and may be assembled in a very expeditious manner.Thus, I obtain a device which presents a finis hed appearance withoutnecessitating the use of metallic stampings and having a housingconstruction with no risk of short-circuiting the connections. Moreover,my socket may be very cheaply manufactured.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. An electric socket havinga shell and cap each made of insulating material threaded one into theother, the shellhaving an internal shoulder, a supporting membercarrying'the screw threaded sleeve, the central contact, the conductorsthereto and the binding screws, said supporting member engaging theshoulder in the shell, and having a partition between the binding screwsof the two contacts, which partition coacts with the cap to preventindependent rotation.

2. A socket fixture comprising in combination a two-part housingcomposed of an insulating shell and an insulating cap screw threadedthereto, an insulating member for supporting electrical contactsarranged to be held against longitudinal movement within the shell whenthe two parts of the housing are assembled and flanges extendinginwardly from the cap and outwardly from the supporting member, one inengagement with the other, for preventing turning movement of thesupporting member with reference to the housing.

3. An electric socket fixture comprising, in combination, asubstantially cylindrical insulating shell, an insulating capin threadedengagement therewith and provided with an opening near its end forreceiving conductor wires, a core member maintained in place againstlongitudinal movement within the housing by the threaded engagement, anda web carried thereby dividing the interior of the second-named housingmember substantially into two chambers, lead-in contact plates securedto the core and extending on either side of the web, each adapted to besecured to its'conductor wire within its respective chamber at one endand at the other to contact members within the firstnamed housingmember, and projections on the interior of the cap adapted to engage thepartition to prevent independent rotation of the cap with reference tothe core member.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

ISAAC F. GILES.

